Winchester

Problem
In 1996, the 100+ year-old maker of firearm ammunition, Winchester, was a company whose future was being questioned. Government regulation and public sentiment had cut deeply into core product sales and the trend was not about to reverse. Consistent with this kind of future outlook, the Winchester division was being treated as a cash cow and little investment was being made in advertising. In fact, there was concern that the brand was slowly fading away

LMCA's goal was two-fold. First, to diversify the brand into new and healthy industries that would ensure uninterrupted earnings growth. And second to feed and nourish the brand into the future.

Solution
Our licensing strategy was to build five "divisions" of products, each operating under the Winchester banner: a shooting products division, a security products division, sports products, apparel, and automotive products. Shooting products consist of shotguns, scopes, binoculars, and a full line of hunting apparel; all are licensed. Under the security division, we have brought the brand into home safes (Winchester ranks as the #1 best-selling brand in North America), gun safes, pepper spray, and police products. In sporting goods, the brand has been extended into fishing gear, archery, billiards, equestrian products, and other recreational areas. Other extensions include Winchester model SUVs (General Motors is the licensee) and high-protein dog nutrition (Ralston-Purina is the licensee).

Results
More than 26 Winchester licensees are currently in place, and more are being added. Importantly, licensees advertise the Winchester brand and most use a single ad agency to help ensure overall brand coordination and control. At this point, more than half of all sales under the Winchester brand are accounted for by LMCA's licensing program. And the program accounts for nearly two-thirds of Winchester's brand advertising budget.